Siobhan Robertson
On the 5th of September, a five-day hearing began at the Royal Courts of Justice, in London. The High Court will determine if the UK Government’s Rwanda Policy is unlawful.
The judicial review is being brought to the High Court by Care4Calais, Detention Action, the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), and a number of asylum seekers facing extradition to Rwanda. They are represented by Duncan Lewis Solicitors, who will argue that the policy is unlawful on multiple grounds.
Is Rwanda safe for the assessment of asylum seekers?
“The lives of many asylum seekers will be affected by this week’s events”
Former Home Secretary Priti Patel has stated that Rwanda is a safe country for asylum seekers to be assessed. Duncan Lewis Solicitors will argue that this is untrue. In a previous hearing, the High Court heard from an independent reviewer that in Rwanda “political opposition is not tolerated, arbitrary detention, torture and even killings are accepted methods of enforcing control too.” Sending asylum seekers to Rwanda could affect their human rights, including the right to be free from torture and inhumane treatment.
Over one hundred asylum seekers were told they would be on the first flight to Rwanda. The flight did not leave the UK, however the Founder of Care4Calais, Clare Moseley, has spoken of the harm caused by the threat alone: “When the Government attempted the flight in June we supported 121 people who had been issued Rwanda notices. We saw harrowing suicide attempts, self-harm, and over 20 people on hunger strike.”
“We spoke to mothers, wives and children who begged us to help their loved ones. We supported people who had escaped from bloody conflicts and survived torture only to be detained and told the terrifying news that they would be deported halfway across the world. It is sickening to contemplate this horror happening once more. Given the more effective and humane options available, is this really what we, as a compassionate country, want to do?”
Yesterday something truly inspiring happened. Outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, and around the country, hundreds of ordinary people came out to stand up for what they believe in. It was a truly special moment and we were incredibly proud. pic.twitter.com/5u2I1WHx7s
— Care4Calais (@Care4Calais) September 6, 2022
Demonstrations across the UK
From 9 am on Monday 5th September, Care4Calais, Stand Up To Racism and the Trade Union Congress led a demonstration outside the court. A rally began at 1 pm, with a number of speakers including Amnesty International UK, the Refugee Council, five Labour MPs, and one SNP MP.
Many people joined in online with a Twitterstorm starting at 11 am. At the time of writing, #StopRwanda held 13th place on Twitter’s longest trending rank.
On the 19th July, a previous Twitterstorm led to #StopRwanda becoming the UK’s third most tweeted trend. Demonstrations continued on into the evening across the UK, including in Edinburgh, Glasgow, York, Leeds, Manchester, Hackney, and more.
help get #StopRwanda trending #StopRwanda #RefugeesWelcome@The_TUC@Care4Calais@AntiRacismDay pic.twitter.com/2MyYVc47tj
— Stand Up To Racism (@AntiRacismDay) September 5, 2022
The lives of many asylum seekers will be affected by this week’s events, whether the High Court rules in their favour or not. Yesterday’s demonstrations across the UK illustrate the abundance of support, compassion and hope for an outcome which ensures their human rights will be honoured.
Featured image courtesy of Care4Calais. No changes were made to this image. Image shared with permission.
Siobhan R
Siobhan is a Scottish Freelance Journalist and one of Empoword’s Social Media Managers. Siobhan writes about a range of social justice issues, with a particular focus on domestic abuse, addiction and disability. Through writing, she aims to help people understand each other's experiences, sharing the difficulties they are living through and exploring what can be done to make a difference.